Second Chances
by ohhockeydays
Summary: What if there was another pair of lovers in P&P. Wouldn't they be one of the most unlikely couples ever?     Disclaimer: I am no Jane Austen, therefore I do not own the characters.


Second chances

Mr. Bennet left his wife's bed for the first time in days. She was gone. Mrs. Bennet was no more. What was he going to do? Heaven knows he had little love left for her but he was so used to her being there. She was annoying and vulgar but she was his wife. He sat down on the floor of his study and started to cry. He felt so lost. Suddenly he saw a carriage arriving. A woman got out and he saw her going for a walk with both came back a few minutes later enraged. He had no idea who this was but went outside to exchange the necessary civilities anyway. Lizzie had already stormed inside and the woman was getting ready to leave. He cleared his throat and watched her whirl around. She was a very striking woman and he immediately gasped at the sight of her.

"Catherine!"

She looked just as chocked as him.

"James!"

She was the first to regain her composure.

"How are you, James?"

He pressed his lips together and let the sad expression return to his face.

"I wish I were well but my wife has just died."

He saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes before she spoke again.

"I am very sorry for your sake, James."

He looked eagerly at her. She was just as beautiful now as she had been 30 years ago.

_James Bennet strolled down the street with his best friend on his arm. Catherine and he had grown up together and were simply inseperable. They were very young. He was 22 and she was 17 but they both looked forward to her eighteenth birthday. Her father had promised them that she could marry then. He was going to ask her to marry him a month before her birthday. They both knew that she would not refuse him. He was laughing softly at one of her jokes when he bumped into someone. He instantly put out his arm to steady the girl. He looked down into the most beautiful face he had ever seen. He did not care about propriety, he had to learn her name. _

"_Oh, I am very sorry miss. My fault entirely." _

_He bowed in her direction. _

"_James Bennet at your service." _

_She smiled at him._

"_Fanny Gardiner, Sir." _

_She curtsied. He let go of Cathy's arm and started talking to his new acquaintance. He was bewitched. James and Fanny married two months later and Catherine's heart never healed. She accepted the first decent proposal she received and was married just a few months after him._

The memories flashed before her eyes. It was all she could do to stop herself from crying. She needed to get out of here as soon as possible. He must have remembered too because his face looked even sadder now.

"I am very sorry, Cathy. For everything."

She simply nodded and took a deep breath. Only when she was certain that her voice would not shake did she dare to speak again.

"So am I, James. More than you know."

He looked searchingly at her face.

"Are you leaving, Cathy? Will I see you again?"

She remained silent for a moment.

"Yes, James, you can see me again if you want to. I am going to stay at the local inn. I would like to go on a walk in Mr. Smith's field tomorrow if you would like to join me?"

He gave her a breathtaking smile.

"I would love to."

He assisted her into her carriage and strolled down the path to his house, forgetting his wife's death for a moment.

The next day they went for a walk, and the day after that. She stayed in Hertfordshire for another fortnight and saw him every day. She still did not want her nephew to marry James' daughter and sent a letter telling Fitzwilliam so. Unfortunately her letter had the opposite effect and they were quickly engaged. James managed to calm her down however. He loved his daughter very much and managed to convince Cathy that it was all for the best. She quickly let go of her pride and aloofness with him. She was the smiling and amusing woman she had been in her youth. The woman he had been in love with. He told her everything that had happened to him in the last 30 years. They had never been reserved with each other and it was no different now. She knew that he had truly fallen in love with his wife and had forgiven him long ago for betraying her. At the end of the fortnight they went for a final walk. Under an oak tree beside a field he took her hand and told her of his feelings for her with so much warmth and love and eloquence that she could not refuse him. She accepted him on the spot. They did not care that he was supposed to be mourning. They were married two months later, just a few weeks after the marriage of his two oldest daughters.

A/N: I know it's not very Lady Catherine de Bourghish but I couldn't help it. I'm very into weird P&P pairings at the moment. Please review, it means the world to me!


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